Inspired Magazine vol 3

Top St Jude students
are given a chance at a
bright future.
Above School of
St Jude graduate
Winrose, and Gemma.
Above right A
St Jude student shows
off produce.
to get a real chance at life, the story of Winrose
is the first that springs to Gemma’s mind.
Winrose’s mum had died when she was 10, but
she’d continued to excel at primary school – a
near impossible feat in Tanzania. How had she
managed to continue her schooling at all, let alone
do well, Gemma pondered?
Before Winrose’s mother had died, she’d taught
Winrose how to sew. Making the most of this
knowledge, and desperate to learn, Winrose would
approach her school teachers and offer to sew their
clothes in exchange for textbooks and tutoring.
After being accepted into the School of St Jude
and excelling throughout her schooling, Winrose
accompanied Gemma on a trip to Australia where
she met the Australian couple who’d funded her
education. “It was so emotional,” Gemma says.
“It always is when a sponsor meets the students
they’ve helped.” Without the sponsors’ help, the
bright young woman before them may have
been sentenced to a life of poverty and domestic
drudgery. Instead, Winrose is now working for
The School of St Jude in a marketing and
sponsorship role.
CHANGING LIVES
Winrose is one of about 2000 kids who’ve now
attended St Jude’s, which currently houses about
1400 boarders, provides 1.2 million meals a year,
and has 600 computers, 26 school buses and a
staff of 300. The school also welcomes visitors to
stay in onsite accommodation where they can visit
the school and see its workings firsthand.
Looking back on the past 15 years of dedicating
her life to The School of St Jude - the tears, the
bloody hard work, the triumphs and the lives
changed - Gemma has no regrets: “When you
work with the students every day, there’s no way
you can have regrets,” she says. “Some days are
harder than others – and we’ve had our challenges.
But at the end of the day we are providing a
free, high-quality education to more than 1800
students who would not have had a chance to
attend school – and that’s why I do it.”
Get involved
For more information, to make
a donation or to organise to visit,
visit www.schoolofstjude.org.
10 GEMMA SISIA